"Moral science" in schools... is it still relevant

**pavalamani pragasam** · 16th March 2008, 08:25 PM

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**Lambretta** · 16th March 2008, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by wrap07

In this we can take cue from our Country's ethos where the individual's morality and upbringing is most imporant when educating the children. This may be a thing of the past but the value of this system will be understood long before

Most 'morality' in edu. institutions is now limited to mere following of discipline within the school premises! Most school authorities seem satisifed as long as this is maintained among students!

**Shekhar** · 17th March 2008, 09:56 AM

How have we learnt what ever we have learnt.?? How have we decided our value system, our ideals, our philosophy?? I think much of childhood learning is by seeing ... seeing what parents do (definitely not what parents preach) .. seeing what teachers do.. seeing what neigbours do... Whether such actions are condoned by parents or not.
But a lot of learning and imbibing of values is also through what we are taught through books. It remains atleast as a conception to be validated or rejected at a later stage when we become adults.
We see the power of indoctrination at young age. (Look at the children in the terrorists training camps)
But, I don't believe in "telling" our children what is right and what is wrong. We need to develop the minds of our children to be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, based on the basic tenets of right and wrong. In that sense "teaching" moral science in schools, is non productive. It doesn't serve any purpose.
I think, the drastic change of value system today is more because of the TV and Movie media (being more impressionable to the children) than due to what is taught or not taught in schools.

**suba** · 17th March 2008, 08:58 PM

Originally Posted by Shekhar

How have we learnt what ever we have learnt.?? How have we decided our value system, our ideals, our philosophy?? I think much of childhood learning is by seeing ... seeing what parents do (definitely not what parents preach) .. seeing what teachers do.. seeing what neigbours do... Whether such actions are condoned by parents or not.
But a lot of learning and imbibing of values is also through what we are taught through books. It remains atleast as a conception to be validated or rejected at a later stage when we become adults.
We see the power of indoctrination at young age. (Look at the children in the terrorists training camps)
But, I don't believe in "telling" our children what is right and what is wrong. We need to develop the minds of our children to be able to decide what is right and what is wrong, based on the basic tenets of right and wrong. In that sense "teaching" moral science in schools, is non productive. It doesn't serve any purpose.
I think, the drastic change of value system today is more because of the TV and Movie media (being more impressionable to the children) than due to what is taught or not taught in schools.

hi shekhar,

how r u?

i very much agree with u that children are influenced by tv and media but if you say that children listen only to the media and not moral science class, it goes same with any other classes. so why should we have schools at all?

we can just leave them to learn EVERYTHING from the parents, neighbours media etc.

**pavalamani pragasam** · 17th March 2008, 09:45 PM

**Lambretta** · 18th March 2008, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by suba

i very much agree with u that children are influenced by tv and media but if you say that children listen only to the media and not moral science class, it goes same with any other classes. so why should we have schools at all?

we can just leave them to learn EVERYTHING from the parents, neighbours media etc.

**app_engine** · 18th March 2008, 12:44 AM

>>we can just leave them to learn EVERYTHING from the parents, neighbours media etc. <<

Not that way. Moral instruction is definitely different from arts / science and math. Please don't confuse. Definitely specialists are needed to teach math / lang / art /science while one cannot dispute that there's no need for "highly educated teacher" to give moral training, as some of the well-known role models in morality were not university educated.

However, there has to be some kind of structured training to young ones in moral aspects, from the "society" apart from parental guidance. There'll be always counsels, opinions etc from relatives / media etc. However, a formal study of the exisitng (sometimes even contradictory) morals, benefits and otherwise of following any values is beneficial. School is an easy place to have this structured study as all children are expected to spend some time there under a studious setting and hence advantageous. Who should be the teacher then?...That's an interesting question and so are other details. As I said earlier, it's to be more seriously analyzed and I'm not an expert in that area

**pavalamani pragasam** · 18th March 2008, 08:01 AM

Having had the luck to get schooling in a convent we had foreign nuns in charge of the moral science class. Like for other subjects we had prescribed books in the syllabus. I even remember the wall-like, brick-design on the book cover, only the colour changed as the numbers increased from 1 to 2 to 3 ...In our final year in school we had very memorable from our teacher on the dignity of women, teenage girls in particular & how we shall nurture it. In the personality development of a pupil, the moral instruction classes have a place by making him think, choose, believe & assess. Grandmas have been replaced by CD's of Panchathantra stories & Aesop tales. The human touch is missing.

**Shekhar** · 18th March 2008, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by suba

i very much agree with u that children are influenced by tv and media but if you say that children listen only to the media and not moral science class, it goes same with any other classes. so why should we have schools at all?

we can just leave them to learn EVERYTHING from the parents, neighbours media etc.

No, No.. You misunderstood me. We learn a lot from school definitely. I said as for values are concerned (I don't like the word 'morality', it has a religious connotation to it, and it varies from culture to culture) they can hardly be taught.
They are imbibed mostly by observation and experience, and very less by being taught through books.
I think you are mixing up knowledge and values. Surely schools teach us knowledge, there is no substitute for that.
Also, I only said influece of media is more, not total.

**nirosha sen** · 18th March 2008, 02:58 PM

Absolutely Shekhar!! Morality should be caught not taught!!

Examples are all the uniformed bodies that students participate in schools. No other lessons are more profound in nurturing the humanity in us, than all these guilds and societies. Children should be taught to be givers and not mere takers from society. I personally think rote-learning alone, of morality is sheer waste of time!